Electric lantern



Mag-ch 31. 1925. 1,531,900

' A. E. BARBER ELECTRIC LANTERN Filed Nov.'5,' 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'INVENTOR' I *i\%$m\wx March 31. 1925; 1,531,900-

A. E. BARBER ELECTRIC LANTERN Filed Nov. 5, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1JAE/5 K 5 ATTORNEYS Ifatented Mar. 31, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE...

ALBERT'E. BARBER, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC Application filed 1 Tvember To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. BARBER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, in the count-y of'Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a new and'useful Improvement in Electric Lanterns. ofwhich the following is a full clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in electric lanterns, anditconsists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an electric lantern which isespecially adapted for trainmen, in that it is compact in structure andis provided with a supporting standard and. a relatively large rigidhandle. whereby the device may be readily disposed upon a supportinsurface or casily manipulated by a trainman in giving his signals.

A further object of my invention is to. provide a device of. the typedescribedwhich has a novel switch and electrical connections between theswitch and the light.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type,described which, has means for holding additional light bulbs.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel 't'eatures of the invention will be particularlv pointedout in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings forming part ofthis application, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of the device,

Figure 2 is a bottom/plan view of the device,

Figure 3 is a vertical, section through the device,

Figure t is a section along the line 1-elof Figure 3. and

Figure is a plan view of the interior ot the cover.

In carrying out my invention 1. provide a cylindrical casing 1 that hasa concave bottom 2 that acts as a reflector for a light 3. The casing 1is adapted to be supported by a frame 4. It will be noted from Figures 1and 2 that the frame 4 consists of a rectangular base 5 and supportinglegs 6 merges into the socket 12.

LANTERN.

5, 1923. serial-No. 672,902.

that are secured to the base and to the easing 1.

The casing is adapted to be carried by a handle 7. The handle consistsof a rubber or fiber tubing 8 that is disposed over a metal tubing 9.The ends of the handle are inserted into, sockets 10 that in turnaresecured to a casing 1 by means of rivets 11.

Rivets 12 connect the tubings 8 and 9 tothe socket 10. The trainman inusing this device grasps the handle 7 and swings the device in thecustomary manner. The handle isrigidly secured to the casing 1 so thatthe device may be readily swung by the per son using the device.

In Figures 3 and 4 I have shown the novel means by which the light isenergized. The light 3 is received in a socket '12. this socket beingprovided with an exteriorly threaded portion 13 that is adapt-ed toreceive a nut 14. The portion 13 provides a shoulder 15 at the pointwhere the portion The portion 18 isadapted to project through an opening16 in the reflector 2. i The nut 14. locks the socket 12 to theretlector 2. It will be noted that the portion 13 takes the place of thestandard light socket, and is much thicker than the walls of thestandard light sockets. The life oi, this socket will therefore be muchlonger. 1 This vis-a vital feature of the device, since lights have tobe removed and inserted a great number of times as they become'worn orbroken.

An insulating disc 17 is dis-posed upon the innersurtace of the socket12 and isheld in place by means of a' rivet 18. It

will be noted that the rivet is insulated'trom' the socket 12by means ofa fiber washer 1'91 The rivet 18 also secures a conductordisc 20 to thedisc 17. A conductor ring" 21 is disposed concentrically around the disc20 and secured by rivets 22. An electrical con ducting strip 23' isconnected to the ring 21 by a rivet 24:, and'is connected to the casing1 by means of rivet 25. The strip 23 is insulated from the casing bymeans of an insulating strip 26. The rivet 25 extends through an opening27 in the casing and is spaced from the Walls of the opening (see Figure4). A fiber disc 28 is disposed in the outer side of the casing 1 andhas a portion 29 that extends into the opening 27 so as to insulate thepin 25 from the casing 1. A spring contact member 30 is secured to theconducting strip 23 by means of a rivet 25. It will be noted that thecontact 30 has a curved portion 31 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The contact 30 forms one of the terminals in a switch indicatedgenerally at 32. The switch comprises a casing 33 that is secured to thecasing 1 and which slidably carries a pin 34. A fiber sleeve 35 isdisposed on the pin 34 and abuts a shoulder 36 on the pin. A metalsleeve 37 is also mounted upon the pin 34 and abuts the sleeve 35. Itwill be noted that the sleeve 35 is conical-shaped and that a portion ofthe sleeve 37 is also conical-shaped. largest diameters of theseconical-shaped portions are disposed adjacent to each other for apurpose now to be described. In Figure 4 the switch is shown in theposition of making a contact between the spring contact member 30 andthe sleeve 37. The tension of the spring contact member 30 is sufficientto normally keep the pin 34 in the position shown. When it is desired toopen the switch, it is merely necessary to move the pin 34 so as tocause the rounded portion 31 of the spring contact 30 to ride up andover the conical portion of the sleeve 37 and on to the conical portionof the insulating sleeve 35. As heretofore stated, the slope of thesleeve 35 tends to continue to move the pin 34 in the same direction. Inthis manner, the switch 32 acts as a snap switch, i. e., it isyieldingly held in open or closed position.

The casing l is adapted to hold a battery 38 that has terminals 39 and40. These terminals yieldingly contact with the conductor disc 20 and rng 21 respectively. It will be seen from this construction that theterminals 39 and 40 will aways contact with the disc 20 and the ring 21no matter in what position the battery 38 is disposed with respect tothe casing l.

The terminals 39 and 40 are yieldingly held in engagement with the disc20 and ring 21 by means of a spring 41 that is disposed in the interiorof the cover 42. The cover 42 is in turn locked to the casing 1 by meansof spring pressed pins 43. The pins 43 are carried by the leaf springs44 that in turn are secured to the casing 1. The pins 45 are alsocarried by the springs 44 and project through openings 46 in the Thecasing 1. By manually pressing the pins 45 the pins 43 may be moved soas to permit the cover 42 to be removed from the casing 1.

The cover 42 also has a light carrying member 43 that is provided withtwo cylindrical portions 44 in which lights 45 may be disposed.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. When using the device, itis merely necessary to insert the battery into the casing, the terminalsautomatically being placed in electrical connection with the light 3 andthe switch 32 as soon as the battery is disposed in place. When theswitch is closed, the current will flow from the terminal 40 of thebattery to the ring 21 and then through the strip 23 to the rivet 25,contact- 30, sleeve 37, casing 33, casing 1, socket 12,

to the light 3. The current from the light will flow through the rivet18, the disc 20, and back to the terminal 39 of the battery 38.

The device is very compact in construction and may be more convenientlyused than the standard trainmens lights. The spring 41 keeps theterminals 39 and 40 in contact with the disc 20 and ring 21 no matter inwhat position the lantern is swung. The casing is provided withreenforcing ribs 46 and 47 that also aid in beautifying the device. Therib 47 also provides a stop for the cover 42, wherel'rv the cover isautomatically aligned with the pins 43.

I claim:

1. An electric lantern comprising a casing having an opening therein, asocket having a reduced threaded portion disposed in said opening, alocking nut adapted to be screwed onto the reduced threaded portion andto lock the socket to the casing, an insulating disc carried by saidsocket and adapted to support a battery, and spring means for holdingsaid battery in place.

2. An electric lantern comprising a cas ing adapted to carry the batteryfor "a flash light, a cover removably secured to said casing, a stripfashioned into two light receiving loops, a leaf spring for holding thebattery in place, and means for securing said strip and said leaf springto said cover.

ALBERT E. BAR-BER.

